Author Archives: scottsoapbox

Reagan Quotes

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Added some good Reagan quotes…

"Here’s my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose."
Ronald Reagan
"Of the four wars in my lifetime none came about because the U.S. was too strong."
Ronald Reagan
"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help."
Ronald Reagan
"I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandment’s would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress."
Ronald Reagan
"The taxpayer: That’s someone who works for the federal government but doesn’t have to take the civil service examination."
Ronald Reagan
"Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."
Ronald Reagan
"Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book."
Ronald Reagan
"If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."
Ronald Reagan

Thanks Rob

Great Race Of 07

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While the major news networks hem and haw over the "upcoming" Presidential election (a mere two years out), I would point out the great race of 07: The Nobel Peace Prize.

Created by inventor Alfred Nobel in his will in 1896 to be given to the individual or organization who "shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding of
peace congresses." The first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in 1901 to Henry Dunant and Frederic Passy.

This year promises to be a banner year for the peace prize as both Rush Limbaugh and Al Gore have been nominated. Rush has been nominated for his "two decades of tireless efforts to promote liberty, equality and opportunity for all humankind, regardless of race, creed, economic stratum or national origin. These are the only real cornerstones of just and lasting peace throughout the world". Al was nominated for his movie, An Inconvenient Truth, about global warming and "making a difference".

I believe this underscores the waning respect this honor now garners. And has everyone forgotten that this is a PEACE prize? Aren’t their any more Mother Teresas in the world?

Adding Ethanol To Gas Hurts Mexico And America

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National Review Online has an interesting article on the impact of increasing the ethanol content in gasoline. The idea sounds good: increase the amount of corn-based ethanol in gasoline to reduce our dependance on foreign oil and help protect the environment. Unfortunatley in practice it does a lot more.

Increasing ethanol in US Gas has increased corn tortillas in Mexico 55% – bad for poor Mexicans. Increasing the cost of food for the poorest people in Mexico is creating political instability there. If trends continue, Mexico won’t be the only one experiencing higher food costs. Not only will the cost of everything made from corn increase, but food that is fed corn (think meat) will increase in price as well.

The worst part is that the government is considering mandating a 20% level of ethanol into gas by 2017. The problem is that America doesn’t have that much corn. If all the corn grown here was converted to ethanol instead of food, we would be at a 12% level. So our great plan is to trade dependance on oil for corn while increasing the cost of living and destabilizing Mexico. Great idea guys.

Best Superbowl Commercials

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What a great game yesterday!  And yet another year of entertaining commercials.  The top 10 best superbowl commercials were:

  1. Coke old guy
  2. Bud dalmation for a day
  3. Doritos spicy cheesey crunchy
  4. Careerbuilder fight for promotion
  5. Tacobell lions
  6. Bud light hitchhikers
  7. Coke grand not-theft auto
  8. GM robot dream
  9. Bud light wedding
  10. Chevy carwash

And an honorable mention has to go to Nationwide’s Kevin Federline… seeing that boy make fries for some reason brought joy to my heart.

F-35 – Joint Strike Fighter

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The future of western fighter jets is almost here. The Joint Strike Fighter is a fighter family developed for the Air Force, Navy & Marines. The fact that 70-80% of the 3 variants is the same allows the tax payer a savings of 20-25% per plane. Which can get to be significant as it will eventually replace a large portion of the planes in service (4000 or so).

The Air Force and Navy models are very similar with the exception of the necessary changes for carrier landing. The Marine variant however has a sweet vertical take-off and landing ability. All 3 have the latest in stealth and electronic intel gathering technology. Not to mention the serious payload of weapons they can carry internally. Carrying the weapons internally reduces drag and therefore increases range; It also reduces the radar signature of the plane. Everything from bunker busters to cruise missiles to conventional missiles can be carried stealthily to targets at super sonic speeds (something previous stealth bombers lacked).

All in all, it looks pretty sweet and should be put into full service in the next 4-5 years.